His Forever Family(36)

He leaned back against the kitchen counter. Hell, he wanted to do more  than think it, he wanted to do it. But, of course, he would pretend he  hadn't a clue as to what she was talking about. "What?"

Her frown deepened. "And don't act all innocent with me. I know what you were thinking."

A smile tugged deeper at Dane's lips knowing she probably did. There  were some things a man couldn't hide and a rock-solid hard-on was one of  them. He decided not to waste his time and hers pretending the  chemistry between them was dead when they both knew it was still very  much alive. "Don't ask me to apologize. It's not my fault you have so  much sex appeal and my desire for you is automatic, even when we're  headed for divorce court."

Dane saying the word divorce was a stark reminder that their life  together, as they once knew it, would be over in twelve days. "Let's get  back to important matters, Dane, like our survival. On a positive note,  we might be able to make due if we cut back on meals, which may be hard  for you with your ferocious appetite."

A wicked sounding chuckle poured from his throat. "Which one?"

Sienna swallowed as her pulse pounded in response to Dane's question.  She was quickly reminded, although she wished there was some way she  could forget, that her husband...or soon-to-be ex...did have two  appetites. One was of a gastric nature and the other purely sexual.  Thoughts of the purely sexual one had intense heat radiating all through  her. Dane had devoured every inch of her body in ways she didn't even  want to think about. Especially now.                       
       
           



       

She placed her hands on her hips knowing he was baiting her; really  doing a hell of a lot more than that. He was stirring up feelings inside  her that were making it hard for her to think straight. "Get serious,  Dane."

"I am." He then came to stand in front of her. "Did you bring anything with you?"

She lifted a brow. "Anything like what?"

"Stuff to snack on. You're good for that. How you do it without gaining a pound is beyond me."

She shrugged, refusing to tell him that she used to work it off with  all those in-bed, out-of-bed exercises they used to do. If he hadn't  noticed then she wouldn't tell him that in six months without him in her  bed, she had gained five pounds. "I might have a candy bar or two in  the car."

He smiled. "That's all?"

She rolled her eyes upward. "Okay, okay, I might have a couple of bags  of chips, too." She decided not to mention the three boxes of Girl Scout  cookies that had been purchased that morning from a little girl  standing in front of a grocery store.

"I hadn't planned to spend the night here, Dane. I had merely thought I could quickly pack things and leave."

He nodded. "Okay, I'll get the snacks from your car while I'm outside  checking on some wood we'll need for the fire. The power is still on,  but I can't see that lasting too much longer. I wished I would have  gotten that generator fixed."

Her eyes widened in alarm. "You didn't?"

"No. So you might want to go around and gather up all the candles you  can. And there should be a box of matches in one of these drawers."

"Okay."

Dane turned to leave. He then turned back around. She was nibbling on  her bottom lip as he assumed she would be. "And stop worrying. We're  going to make it."

When he walked out the room, Sienna leaned back against the closed  refrigerator, thinking those were the exact words he'd said to her three  years ago when he had asked her to marry him. Now she was worried  because they didn't have a proved track record.





Chapter 7

After putting on the snow boots he kept at the cabin, Dane made his way  out the doors, grateful for the time he wouldn't be in Sienna's  presence. Being around her and still loving her like he did was hard.  Even now he didn't know the reason for the divorce, other than what was  noted in the papers he'd been served that day a few weeks ago.  Irreconcilable differences...whatever the hell that was supposed to  mean.

Sienna hadn't come to him so they could talk about any problems they  were having. He had come home one day and she had moved out. He still  was at a loss as to what could have been so wrong with their marriage  that she could no longer see a future for them.

He would always recall that time as being the lowest point in his life.  For days it was as if a part of him was missing. It had taken a while  to finally pull himself together and realize she wasn't coming back no  matter how many times he'd asked her to. And all it took was the receipt  of that divorce petition to make him realize that Sienna wanted him out  of her life, and actually believed that whatever issues kept them apart  couldn't be resolved.

A little while later Dane had gathered more wood to put with the huge  stack already on the back porch, glad that at least, if nothing else,  they wouldn't freeze to death. The cabin was equipped with enough  toiletries to hold them for at least a week, which was a good thing. And  he hadn't wanted to break the news to Sienna that the meat in the  freezer wasn't chicken, but deer meat that one of his clients had given  him a couple of weeks ago after a hunting trip. It was good to eat, but  he knew Sienna well enough to know she would have to be starving before  she would consume any of it.

After rubbing his icy hands on his jeans, he stuck them into his  pockets to keep them from freezing. Walking around the house, he  strolled over to her car, opened the door and found the candy bars,  chips and... Girl Scout cookies, he noted, lifting a brow. She hadn't  mentioned them, and he saw they were her favorite kind, as well as his.  He quickly recalled the first year they were married and how they shared  the cookies as a midnight snack after making love. He couldn't help but  smile as he remembered that night and others where they had spent time  together, not just in bed but cooking in the kitchen, going to movies,  concerts, parties, having picnics and just plain sitting around and  talking for hours.

He suddenly realized that one of the things that had been missing from  their marriage for a while was communication. When had they stopped  talking? The first thought that grudgingly came to mind was when she'd  begun bringing work home, letting it intrude on what had always been  their time together. That's when they had begun living in separate  worlds.                       
       
           



       

Dane breathed in deeply. He wanted to get back into Sienna's world and  he definitely wanted her back in his. He didn't want a divorce. He  wanted to keep his wife but he refused to resort to any type of  manipulating, dominating or controlling tactics to do it. What he and  Sienna needed was to use this weekend to keep it honest and talk openly  about what had gone wrong with their marriage. They would go further by  finding ways to resolve things. He still loved her and wanted to believe  that deep down she still loved him.

There was only one way to find out.





Chapter 8

Sienna glanced around the room seeing all the lit candles and thinking  just how romantic they made the cabin look. Taking a deep breath, she  frowned in irritation, thinking that romance should be the last thing on  her mind. Dane was her soon-to-be ex-husband. Whatever they once shared  was over, done with, had come to a screeching end.

If only the memories weren't so strong...

She glanced out the window and saw him piling wood on the back porch.  Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought her day would end up  this way, with her and Dane being stranded together at the cabin-a place  they always considered as their favorite getaway spot. During the first  two years of their marriage, they would come here every chance they  got, but in the past year she could recall them coming only once.  Somewhere along the way she had stopped allowing them time even for  this.

She sighed deeply, recalling how important it had been to her at the  beginning of their marriage for them to make time to talk about matters  of interest, whether trivial or important. They had always been attuned  to each other, and Dane had always been a good listener, which to her  conveyed a sign of caring and respect. But the last couple of times they  had tried to talk ended up with them snapping at each other, which only  built bitterness and resentment.

The lights blinked and she knew they were about to go out. She was glad  that she had taken the initiative to go into the kitchen and scramble  up some eggs earlier. And she was inwardly grateful that if she had to  get stranded in the cabin during a snowstorm that Dane was here with  her. Heaven knows she would have been a basket case had she found  herself up here alone.